The House of Lords currently seats over 800 peers, leading to claims it is bloated

Lord Fowler, the Speaker of the Lords, said today: "The House of Lords carries out vitally important work in holding the government of the day to account.

"However, with over 800 members - about 150 more than the Commons - we are too large.

"The time has now come to take action to correct this and put a cap on numbers for the future."

Critics have long called on the Lords to be reduced in size and demanded reform to the system where peers can claim expenses even if they never speak in debates.

It is currently the second largest parliamentary body in the world, and has also been criticised because some parties such as the Lib Dems are vastly over-represented compared to their level of popular support.

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